Standing In Between
by xHakumeix
Summary: Everyone knew Yanagi Renji and Inui Sadaharu were childhood friends. What would have surprised everyone was the fact that the Data Duo had at one time been a trio and the third person had touched their lives in a way no other possibly could


Everyone knew that Yanagi Renji and Inui Sadaharu were childhood friends. It had come as a surprise to some because both boys seemed to wall themselves away from the world behind their data and their ever present analyzations but then again they were so similar that it didn't surprise many others.

What would have surprised everyone was the fact that the Data Duo had at one time, been a trio and that the third person had touched their lives in a way no other possibly could. Yamaguchi Shiko had known both boys since the first year of elementary school. They had all three been outcasts in their class because of their intelligence, even at such a young age. Shiko hadn't played tennis but it had fascinated her when the boys did and she always watched eagerly. The three children were very close, spending almost every moment possible with the others. They were rarely ever seen without the other two somewhere nearby.

They shared ideas and information, debated over different subjects and it was a chance comment from Shiko that actually gave Yanagi the idea for Data Tennis. They had been watching the other children practice. Yanagi and Inui had finished and were waiting for the coach to dismiss them when Shiko smirked.

"Huh… When someone hits a shot from the left like that, nine out of ten times, Hanako-san hits it back to the right with a top spin on the ball." She commented. She, like the two boys, loved probability and percentages. It was fun to predict what people were going to say or do by watching their habits and interactions with others. Yanagi frowned and turned his attention to the game in front of them.

"90 percent huh?" he murmured and took out a notebook to take notes. It wasn't unusual. All three of them had extra notebooks to jot down ideas or questions about things to research so the other two didn't really pay any attention to his sudden note-taking until three days later when he announced the beginning of Data Tennis.

"I can predict where the opponent is going to hit the ball and how they react to certain things in the match by getting their information from other matches." Shiko didn't mind when he and Inui huddled together to discuss the ideas because she was caught up in her own research. She wanted to be a doctor when she was old enough and she figured that nothing would ever come between her and her two best friends.

She only realized how wrong she was when a couple of years later, Inui told her that Yanagi had quit as his doubles partner. When they went to get answers, they discovered his parents had relocated. Neither had imagined something like this could happen and both were devastated at the sudden loss of their best friend.

Each grieved for his absence in their own way. Shiko threw herself into her studies even more. She had hopes to attend high school and graduate early so she could reach her goal of becoming a doctor as soon as possible. Inui threw himself into tennis, determined to become the best Data Tennis player there was. Neither realized that their own friendship was slowly evaporating until it was too late. Both passed each other in the halls, too caught up in their own worlds to even say hello.

In the ninth grade, Inui and Yanagi came face to face on opposite sides of the court and in the end, Inui was victorious. It was only days later, when Yanagi invited Inui for coffee, did they both realize how much things had changed. Inui arrived several minutes after Yanagi and they sat down at a table.

"Where is Shiko? I didn't see her at the match? Is she ill?" Yanagi asked glancing around to make sure he hadn't missed the girl in the crowd. Inui frowned.

"I haven't spoken to Shiko in… two years, four months and seventeen days." He admitted. He felt a pang of loss deep within him. Yanagi had left them but they had left each other just the same. Yanagi's face was neutral.

"I see." He said softly.

The conversation started out awkwardly but soon it was as if there had never been any time apart. They shared information (though neither was very giving about the data on their own teammates) and stories and ideas. When both left the café that afternoon, they both felt as though something had been healed between them but there was still that missing piece.

Inui searched the school the next day for sight of his friend but he didn't see her anywhere. He carefully asked several people discreet questions but no one had any answers. Yes, she still attended school here but she had missed the last few days. Yes, she was getting the top score in all of her classes but her attendance record wasn't the best. He didn't find any relevant information about her at all. Even when he hacked into the school files, it only gave him information he already knew.

It was Yanagi who found Shiko and it was in a place he wouldn't have suspected. Well, not completely. He had been to see Yukimura, who was recovering quite nicely from his surgery and seemed ready to take on the world, or at least the opposing teams in the Nationals. He was about to leave the hospital when he came across a familiar face leaving one of the doctor's offices.

"Shiko…" he called out softly because she hadn't seemed to have seen him. She spun around and her eyes widened.

"Renji!" He suddenly found himself being hugged but the petite girl and as he wrapped his own arms around her to return the embrace, he could feel how frail she seemed to be.

"It's been so long. Have you seen Sadaharu? He's one of the regulars on the tennis team at Seigaku. He plays Data Tennis, just like you." She said with a smile and stepped away.

"I have seen Sadaharu. We played in the Finals against each other. I attend Rikkai Dai and I am a regular as well." He said and noticed that she didn't seem surprised by this information. Seeing his curious look, she smirked.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't keep track of my two best friends? I know they call you one of the three demons of Rikkai Dai and the Data Master but you'll still be the Professor to me, Renji." She said in a cheerful voice and Yanagi remembered that she was the one who knew him and Inui better than anyone else. While they had gotten the data from others, she had gotten it from them. It shouldn't have surprised him that she had found him and continued to get his data.

"I haven't heard that in quite a while, Princess." He said and she made a face. They had been called Professor and Doctor but she had been stuck with the nickname Princess. They weren't quite sure where the nickname had come from but it had stuck.

"So are you still planning to become a doctor?" he asked, glancing at the door to the office she had just left. She followed his gaze and then gave him a lopsided smile.

"Of course I am. I've just hit a few bumps in the road. I was diagnosed with Leukemia a year ago." She said in a matter-of-fact voice. He froze.

"And … are you well now?" he asked carefully. He didn't know how he could take it if she wasn't going to be alright. He might have not seen his two best friends in years but it didn't mean he loved them any less. He had been satisfied to leave everything as it was because he knew that they would be alright and they would have each other. He hadn't known how wrong he had been until the meeting with Inui but they were all here now and could make things right.

"Am I well? Not exactly but… everything is right in the world, almost. Just a few more bumps to get through and everything will be perfect." She assured him with a smile. He nodded and opened his mouth to get more detailed information but one of his teammates interrupted.

"Oi, Yanagi, I thought you were going home?" Marui called out to him from the end of the hall. He turned to face them and they saw the girl he was talking to. Neither Marui nor Niou could see anything special about her. She wasn't especially pretty but she wasn't ugly either. She had short black hair and brown eyes that blinked at them through spectacles. She was short and thin and there was an air of fragility around her as if a strong wind could break her. She smiled at them as they approached.

"Niou Masaharu and Marui Bunta, nice to meet you. Call me sometime, Renji and we can all get together again. It will be wonderful to share data again." She said and walked away. They watched as she disappeared around a corner. Yanagi turned to his teammates, who were looking very curious. It wasn't every day that someone other than Yukimura or Sanada called Yanagi by his first name.

"Yamaguchi Shiko." Niou said reading the card that she had handed Yanagi. Yanagi shoved it in his pocket.

"A childhood friend." He said and then turned and walked away. Niou shrugged at Marui and turned to follow.

The next day he made the call that would bring the trio back together for the first time in four years. Like the first meeting with Yanagi and Inui, it started out awkward but got better as the time passed. Soon it was if they hadn't spent any time apart and things seemed normal between them. The only contention the boys had was that Shiko refused to discuss the details of her illness but soon they realized that it didn't matter as long as she was getting better.

They spent as much time together as they possibly could, which unfortunately wasn't much due to team practices, the Goodwill games and the other various activities that took up their time. It was during this time that the three of them became aware of the feelings they had towards certain members of the trio. Two tried to ignore them because they didn't want something bad to happen again but the third decided that something had to be done.

One warm afternoon, Shiko made her way down to the tennis courts. She wanted to speak with Inui before she left to meet Yanagi. She waved to Tezuka and he nodded in acknowledgement. Her friendship with Inui wasn't well known because both were private people but she knew Tezuka from before she had been diagnosed. They had fought to get the top score in the class every year. She had won until her illness had forced her to miss days and her grade had dropped slightly. She saw Tezuka as a friendly rival and she imagined he felt the same for her.

"Sadaharu! Can I talk to you?" she called out when she saw that he had finished his match. She noted with amusement that several of the other regulars had stopped and was giving her odd looks. He jogged over to her.

"Are you alright, Shiko?" he asked, knowing it had to be important for her to interrupt tennis practice.

"I just wanted to let you know that I won't be walking home with you. I have a date with Renji this afternoon." She said with a smile.

"A… date? It's not just…" he asked and she could see he was dismayed.

"No, it's a real date. I was as surprised as you are when he asked me. But I didn't want you to worry. I'll call you when I get home tonight." She said and turned to walk away. Only Tezuka saw the smug smile on her face but he didn't think anything of it. Inui had the same smile every time he offered some poor teammate a glass of his latest juices.

Later that afternoon, Shiko met Yanagi at their usual café. They had a cup of tea and then she asked him if they could walk in the nearby park. It had a small public garden with beautiful flowers. He agreed immediately and they left. She led him around the park and they discussed the various types of flowers and plants, the people they saw and other various topics. She was content to let the conversation go where it may until they reached the center of the garden where a small fountain sat. She sat on the bench closest to the fountain and turned to her best friend.

"When are you going to admit it?" she asked abruptly and he gave her a startled look.

"Admit what?" he asked carefully, knowing how well she knew him, even after all these years apart.

"Your feelings. You can't hide them forever. I've known about them since we were kids." She said with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know what you are talking about." He said firmly and turned to look at the nearest bush.

"You know you do. When are you going to admit it to yourself and to him that you love him? You always have Renji." She said softly.

"He's not interested in men at all, Shiko. And not in me."

"So you admit you love Sadaharu?"

"Yes, I do but-"

"And do you want to know the probability of him returning the sentiment?" she asked. He frowned at her, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer.

"One hundred percent."

Shiko hadn't spoken and Yanagi turned to face someone who was coming out of the bushes. Inui straightened his glasses.

"What?" Yanagi asked, somewhat dumbfounded.

"It means he loves you too." Shiko said in amusement. She watched as the two boys that she loved more than anything moved towards each other and talked in low voices. She watched their first hesitant kiss and was happy. She loved them both equally and it had been hard living without them and she imagined the future would be even harder.

"So you told him we were on a date to make him jealous enough to follow. What if it hadn't worked?" Yanagi asked later. She scoffed.

"Do you forget who you are talking to? I know you two better than you know yourselves. I have books and books of data on you. And if by some small chance, and I'm talking 1.3 percent, I would have just forced one of you to tell the other." She said and they smiled at her.

"I didn't think it was going to happen before I died though." She said absently. Both boys narrowed their eyes at her but she didn't see because she was writing about her day.

"We would have realized it sometime once we realized what the data meant. Perhaps in high school." Inui said. She looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"I… I…" she started and then stopped and took a deep breath. "I won't be going to high school with you. I'm sorry." And there was so much regret in her voice about not attending high school with them that they both frowned.

"Why? What high school are you going to attend? Rikkai has decent courses for future doctors. Inui is transferring there after graduation." Yanagi said. She took another deep breath.

"The thing is… possibility of me living to see you play in the Nationals is 2 percent. The doctors gave me three months to live and it's been thirteen weeks since that proclamation." She admitted. Both boys were so stunned by this that they couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The only thing going through their minds were her words. Two percent, three months, thirteen weeks, over and over again.

Suddenly she was pulled into their arms and the three sat there just holding on to each other. No one said anything about the tears that were running down their cheeks or the occasional sobs that were heard. They just held on to each other as if one was going to disappear.

"I have accepted it, you know. As long as the people I loved could be happy, I could accept it. That's why I wanted you two to see how you felt about each other. I want you two to be happy. You mean the world to me." She told them later. She refused to allow either boy to research her illness, preferring instead to have them nearby. She wanted her last days to be spent with the people she loved most.

The day of the Nationals dawned bright and warm but two of the players were bleak. Their best friend had been admitted into the hospital the night before and the doctor's prognosis wasn't good. They did the best they could for the friend who had supported them even when they didn't know it. When the matches were over, both boys rushed to the hospital to tell their friend about the matches. She smiled at them weakly.

"I'm so proud of you. I love you two so much…" she said and to their horror, a nearby machine beeped as the line went flat.

The funeral was small, as not many people knew Shiko that well. Her parents and two other siblings were there as well as the two boys who meant everything to the girl. Their teams had come to support their teammates but few understood how important the girl had been to the couple. They knew that she had been a childhood friend but not how close the trio had been. They understood that she had gotten them to admit their feelings for each other but not how she had given them the gift of love to help them deal with the grief of her death. Of the only people who understood, one was dead and the other two were too caught up in their grief to explain, if they ever would have in the first place.

Before they left, Shiko's mom gave them an envelope.

"She was so happy this last month and a half. I'm glad she found you before she…" her mother said before she turned away, sobbing. Both boys stared down at the envelope in Yanagi's hands. It took them two days to gather the courage and strength of heart to open it without breaking down. As it was, both could feel the tears on their cheeks as they saw the familiar writing.

_My best friends and the two I love most in the world,_

_I must be dead if you are reading this, or Sadaharu is being nosy again and I will have to kill him. Can't a girl have some privacy? I'm going to assume that I am dead because I plan to hide this in my panty drawer and I know Sadaharu has some limits. I guess what I wanted to tell you was that I love you both. I have for a long, long while. You meant everything to me and at first, it broke my heart that we drifted apart (or moved away, Renji) but I know that everyone has their own way of dealing with things. Renji, you hoped that if you didn't say goodbye, things would be the way they were when you left and you, Sadaharu, pushed yourself to become the best at tennis so you could prove to Renji that you could stand on your own, that you were worthy._

_I, on the other hand, didn't know what to do so I pushed myself into studies and when I finally realized what I had done, I was quick to correct it. I found Renji and followed him around. I also followed you, Sadaharu. I really felt like a stalker but it was just love. I was waiting for the time when we would find each other again. I'm sorry that when it happened, I had to go. Deeply sorry for not being able to spend time with you but these last few weeks have been the best. I regret nothing but leaving you to grieve for me. I'll watch over you and until we meet again, don't forget how much I love you._

_Your best friend,_

_Shiko_

A/N This was distracting me at work all day long so hopefully tomorrow I can concentrate on not getting fired. Anyway, hope you like it. If not, I'm sorry. I liked it for the most part which is why I posted it. Anyway, tell me what you think and please be nice. I'm not having a great day...


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